Characterization of electromagnetic shield

Most often electromagnetic (EM) shielding components (e.g. gaskets, ventilation panels, housings, etc.) are designed and characterized individually. There are many documented techniques on how to characterize the EM shielding components. However, when all of the shielding components are assembled into an enclosure, the overall EM shielding shows significantly different and usually worse results. This paper introduces a technique which will effectively characterize the EM shielding of the complete assembly in a way simulating its actual use. This technique, when applied with a battery driven signal source, can also eliminate the error due to the presence of power or signal cable acting as an antenna in the test setup